thatbegan in theTriangleandended
somewhereelseway toosoon.
And likeroadsigns insistently leading
you toadestination, thenameson that list
sooneror laterdropyou in frontof thebig
question:Whatkindofmagicmust live
here togrow thismuchgenius?
Thatwasmyquestion, andby the third
autumnafterI’dmovedmy familyandmy
life to themid-Tennesseehills, Iwasready
togopickin’ forstoriesand findsome
answers.
Ialso travelbymotorcycle,ofcourse,
andnot justanymotorcycle.A1941
Harley-DavidsonKnucklehead.
FOUND THAT BIKETHREE
yearsago inWilmington,Ohio.
Itbelonged toamannamed
Johnny,whobought itwhen
itwasnewandwho loved it formore
than30years.Whenhepassedaway, the
Knuckleheadsat inhisgarage, justwhere
he’d left itafterhis lastride.Johnny’swife
hadpromisedhimshe’dnevergetridof
thatbike, and fornearly fourdecades, she
keptherpromise.
WhenI firstmether, she toldme
she’dbeen feeling like itwas time tostart
gettingher things inorder.Soshewent to
thecemetery, satbyJohnny’sgraveand
askedhim if itwasOKnow tosell thebike.
She lefthisgrave feeling like itwas, as long
asshe foundsomeonewho’d treasure itas
Johnnyhad.
Thatsomeonewasme.
I’mhonoredandgrateful toride
Johnny’sKnucklehead.Allbikesare trans-
portation,but thisone’sa transporter.
Whenyoumountup, it takesyounot just
down theroadbutback to the timewhen
hebought itshiny-new,whenheadlamps
weredimmerandmotorsweresmaller
andgaswaspennies.And thosegeniusmu-
siciansdown in theTrianglewere, as they
74
DECEMBER2015
AMERICANWAY
PHOTOS
JOHN COLETTI /GETTY IMAGES ; DOSFOTOS/DES IGN P ICS
CLOCKWISE
FROM
TOPRIGHT
:
AnElvis
impersonator
performson
Memphis’ Beale
Street, abluesy
destination for
tourists and
residents alike.
I
